Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) assess and (b) improve the accessibility of food packaging for blind and partially sighted people.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The availability and accessibility of essential food information to all consumers is vitally important. It is already a requirement that food information must be easily visible, clearly legible and where appropriate indelible, in addition to there being a required minimum font size for mandatory information.
We are aware of moves by some retailers to provide information on food in braille format, and the government is interested in seeing how this works.
We know there are other exciting possibilities, including the use of mobile phone apps and QR codes via which consumers with visual impairments may be able to access not only the basics, but the full range of information available on the label, as well as additional information provided via the App or QR code. This is clearly an area of interest with potential and one with which we will be engaging in the future.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of social prescribing for supporting mental health and wellbeing in children and young people; and what steps his Department is taking to increase access to social prescribing for children and young people.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
No specific assessment has been made. The Department recognises the value of social prescribing for children and young people. NHS England training programme for social prescribing link workers includes a module to support social prescribing for children and young people.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of unregulated canine fertility clinics on animal welfare.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Department has not made an assessment of the impact of unregulated canine fertility clinics on animal welfare.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the (a) Welsh Government, (b) Scottish Government and (c) Northern Ireland Executive on the use of cages for laying hens.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Secretary of State has regular meetings with counterparts in the Devolved Administrations to discuss a range of issues including the use of cages for laying hens.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of bus stop bypasses on blind and partially-sighted people.
Answered by Richard Holden
Provision of traffic management measures such as floating bus stops is a matter for local authorities. The Department provides design advice on floating bus stops in Local Transport Note 1/20: Cycle Infrastructure Design, which highlights the potential issues and stresses the need for early engagement on design with relevant groups, particularly those representing disabled people.
The Department is working with Transport Scotland, who are leading on research into accessible public realm, including bus stop bypasses. The outputs will inform recommendations about designs and good practice advice, and the project is scheduled to complete later this year.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the report of the Independent investigation into allegations of antisemitism within NUS, published on 12 January 2023; and what steps the Government is taking to help counter antisemitism in universities.
Answered by Robert Halfon
This report that shows that the National Union of Students (NUS) has, over a number of years, systematically failed to represent the interests of Jewish students, and failed to tackle antisemitic practices within its own organisation. This is not acceptable. The NUS should be an organisation where Jewish students not only feel safe to be themselves, but where their full and equal participation is actively welcomed.
Higher education (HE), more broadly, should do all it can to root out antisemitism. The recent Community Security Trust (CST) report showing a 22% increase in antisemitic incidents on campus over the last two years is deeply concerning.
The department has encouraged HE providers to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, to have absolute clarity of what constitutes antisemitic behaviour. 245 providers in England have adopted the IHRA definition, including the vast majority of universities. We would urge those providers that have not yet adopted to the definition to do so, and for those that have, to ensure that they are fully complying with the definition.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether funding for all 40 NHS Wellbeing Hubs will continue beyond March 2023.
Answered by Will Quince
The staff mental health and wellbeing hubs were set up in October 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, using additional non-recurrent funding until 2022/23. A final decision is yet to be made on the funding of these hubs for 2023/24.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has conducted an impact assessment on the impact of the Minimum Income Guarantee on disabled users of social care.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
No specific assessment has been made. The level of the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) is reviewed annually, with the next review ongoing. Following the last review, from 6 April 2022 the MIG was increased in line with inflation. The impact of this uprating was taken into account in the Social Care Charging Reform Impact Assessment. Any revised rates for next year will be published in a Local Authority Circular.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to encourage local authorities to (a) collect and scan cats injured or killed in road traffic accidents for a microchip and (b) inform the owners of those animals or their injuries or deaths.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Government has committed to introducing compulsory cat microchipping and this will increase the likelihood that cats injured or killed on roads can be reunited with their keeper.
It is established good practice for local authorities to scan any cat or dog found on the streets so that the owner can be informed. Cats Protection reports that 80% of councils in England routinely scan cats involved in accidents.
Additionally, Highways England has clear guidelines for contractors to follow when they find a deceased cat or dog.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has commissioned research on the number of unregulated canine fertility clinics in the UK.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Department has not commissioned research into the number of unregulated canine fertility clinics.